AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL

Hedley Wright and his wife Hope May Wright, better known as Brother and Sister Wright, established the Gnowangerup Reserve in 1920 on Gnowangerup Shire Council-donated land. The Reserve was privately-run by the Wrights with both of them teaching Aboriginal students on site. They established Gnowangerup Aboriginal Mission in 1935 after moving those at the Reserve to the new 90 acre Mission site on the other side of Gnowangerup town. Men were encouraged to earn money through farm work and women were taught domestic duties, while children received schooling from the staff at the Mission. In 1948, Hedley Wright resigned after a disagreement he had with the United Aborigines Mission, but returned to the Mission in 1954 when the Baptist Church opened an Agricultural School there.

      BROTHER & SISTER WRIGHT        #1
 

1978, due to falling attendances, the school began to include non-Aboriginal youths who weren’t succeeding in traditional schools. In 2005 boarding facilities at Gnowangerup Agricultural School were closed. The school was renamed Gnowangerup Training Centre in 2006 and provided training programs for secondary students who were already enrolled in mainstream schools in Gnowangerup, Katanning and Jerramungup. The centre was closed in 2010 by the Minster for Education due to low enrolments.

Every endeavour has been made to accurately record the details however if you would like to provide additional images and/or newer information we are pleased to update the details on this site. Please use CONTACT at the top of this page to email us. We appreciate your involvement in recording the history of our area.

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                                  Image:     3     Berndt Museum

Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2024